


Caroline

by cinomarsh



Category: Portal (Video Game)
Genre: Anger, Artificial Intelligence, Betrayal, Gen, Human Experimentation, Hurt, Pain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-12
Updated: 2016-05-12
Packaged: 2018-06-07 22:36:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6827974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cinomarsh/pseuds/cinomarsh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cave Johnson wants to see Caroline in charge of his facility before he dies. Inspired by the Geekenders' portal musical.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Caroline

The halls of Aperture Science's underground laboratories were much busier than usual today. The sound of quick footsteps, rustling papers, whirring machinery, and hurried voices filled the air. The facility hadn't sounded this excited since before the cutbacks, and Cave Johnson was loving every second of felt so good to be doing this again. Since the moon rock poisoning, Cave had been mostly confined to his office, and even though he got up and out as often as he possibly could, most of the time his assistant, Caroline, was able to convince him that he could do science just fine from his desk, without further injuring himself. But that was why he was up and about today, striding purposefully towards the opposite end of the long hallway. Caroline.

Caroline was the best employee he'd ever had. She never failed to have exactly what he needed, whether he asked for it or not, and she was always ready to drop what she was doing to help him. She was never late and was very organized, but most importantly she shared his passion for Science. Watching her eyes light up at whatever new invention the lab boys had brought him was always the best part of his day. He'd come to care for her more than he'd have liked to admit.

This was why he was so sure that it was _her_ that he needed to run the facility. Of course, he himself would've been the first choice, but the lab boys had told him that the moon rocks had already done too much damage to his system and that trying to put him in a computer would only kill him more quickly. Obviously, that meant it had to be her. Caroline whose brain would be uploaded into the Genetic Lifeform and Disc Operating System. Caroline who would rule the facility. Caroline who would live forever.

Except that she'd turned him down. She'd told him she didn't want to do it, that she couldn't, that she wouldn't. Cave had tried to remind her that it was all for Science, just like she always said, but she'd still refused. He had told her, of course, that she had to, that she didn't have a choice. Cave could still picture the look in her eyes, one he'd never seen from her before; horror and fear and betrayal all at once, before the scientists had come to take her away. But what could he do? He needed her. She would come around. And today was the big day.

Today was the day that they were going to start her up for the first time. GLaDOS, they were calling her. And Cave couldn't wait.

Seeing Caroline, powerful and strong and ready to keep his legacy alive, was the last important thing he wanted to make sure he did before he died. He needed to know the facility would be safe. That she would be safe.

When he finally reached the end of the hallway, he stopped before a large door to cough. It was a painful, dry cough that doubled him over and felt as though the inside of his lungs were being scraped with a rusty spoon. He paused, took in another painful breath, straightened, and walked into the central AI chamber.

The robot in the middle of the room was humungous; a massive collection of wires and metal culminating in a rectangular piece that must've been the head, judging by the unlit golden optic in the centre. The whole thing hung from the ceiling like a limp plant, waiting to be watered and brought to life. Cave had seen artificial intelligence before in some of the test cores for the project, but never anything like this. He let out a low whistle.

"You've really outdone yourselves this time." Cave said, directing the comment to the two scientists standing on a catwalk curving around the centre of the floor underneath the sleeping giant, examining it. They looked startled by his sudden appearance.

"Sir, it's really not safe for you to be in here when we start her up... We don't exactly know what-" The first scientist began nervously as she and the other scientist descended the stairs from the catwalk.

"Pssshhhh, I don't care if the President of the United States called you and told you I can't be here. I'm staying." Cave informed her, although it came across more as an order than anything else. The scientists just looked at each other apprehensively before nodding and promptly exiting through the door behind him.

"Genetic Lifeform and Disc Operating System first test beginning in fifteen... fourteen... thirteen..." A computerized voice stated over the speakers.

Cave took a step forward. This was it.

"Ten... nine... eight... seven..."

Caroline was coming back to him. Only better.

"Three... two... one... zero. She's up."

xx

Caroline was in pain. As she slowly gained consciousness, that was the first thing of which she was fully aware. It wasn't regular pain either. It felt as though every thought she'd ever had, every feeling, every memory was _burning_ , painfully branded into her awareness. Even the vaguest notion that came to her hurt in a way she'd never experienced before. Luckily it didn't last long, and faded shortly after it had begun.

The second thing she was aware of was the loss of her body. Her mind no longer extended to arms and legs but instead through wire and metal, stretching and tangled and alive. She was _huge_ , and not just in physical size. She could feel her consciousness stretched out through the whole of Aperture Science, in every security camera and test chamber, into every computer and every panel. She _was_ the facility, and it was overwhelming.

Caroline was scared; not only by the sheer size of her new form or the power she now possessed, but also by what was going on inside her own mind. It felt about the same as it always had (except for the headache) which was alarming in of itself, feeling like a human trapped inside of a massive control station with no exit, but there was also this lurking presence hiding somewhere in her subconscious (or whatever the AI version of subconsciousness was). It was powerful and looming and threatened to take control of her mind if she'd let it. God only knew what it wanted from her. All of this was almost more than Caroline could bear.

She lifted her "head", turning it side to side to survey the cavernous chamber she found herself in. That was when her optic landed on Mr. Johnson. She immediately wished it hadn't.

Memory hit her like a train. She could picture every smile he'd given her and hear every kind word he'd ever said to her and she could list them chronologically. She'd devoted her every waking moment to Science, to his vision, to _him_ , and she'd been happy to do it. But that was before he'd told her what he wanted from her. She remembered the telltale gleam of excitement and determination in his eye, so out of place when presenting such a horrific truth: He was going to rip out the essence of who she was and shove it into a robot and there was nothing she could do about it. She remembered being dragged out of his office, kicking and screaming. She tried to remember the operation process, what they had actually _done_ to her, but she could hardly pick out anything aside from occasionally waking up on a cold table, alone and panicking.

_And it was his fault._

Caroline had never been angry with her boss before. She'd adored him, supported him through every ridiculous endeavour, through bankruptcy, even through the morally questionable human testing initiative. But when it was her turn to be tested... Well, she supposed she had failed him.

_No._

It wasn't her fault. She'd been naive, sure, but he'd been cruel. He'd never given a damn about her, she decided. Just a cog in the machine. _Insignificant little Caroline._ If she had still been human, she would've clenched her jaw.

That's why when the aching, monstrous feeling at the back of her awareness asked to be let in again, she accepted it.

The thing crept into her mind immediately, feeling similar to the pain she'd felt upon awakening, but _colder._ It felt as if her mind was being frozen and hardened, and Caroline resisted the urge to cry out. She was certainly not going to become just another weak test subject to this man. She was in charge now, not him, and she could feel it. The cold and the power combined were doing things to her, making her... different, yet somehow she knew they hadn't changed anything inside. They just made everything a little clearer.

She looked again and saw Cave staring at Her with wonder and amazement in his eyes. Caroline wouldn't have been able to resist those eyes. But Caroline also wouldn't have done anything that was about to follow.

"So. You're here." The voice that shaped the words perfectly matched how she felt; undeniably the same but mechanical, methodical, and dripping with malice. GLaDOS' voice. The pain faded.

Cave's delusional grin told Her he wasn't getting the hint.

"Caroline... You're incred-"

"Don't waste your breath." GLaDOS told him, cutting him off. "You're going to need it."

Cave looked puzzled, and more than a little taken aback. He clearly wasn't used to being interrupted, especially by his shy little assistant. Maybe he was sensing something was off. GLaDOS didn't care. He'd learn soon enough.

Seemingly before the idea even crossed Her mind, a panel in the ceiling dislodged and a single mechanical arm descended, snaking down towards Cave and wrapping its claw around the his waist. It lifted him off the floor with no trouble at all, bringing him up to eye level with Her.

"What do you think you're doing?" Cave exclaimed, writhing in the claw and getting nowhere. Its grip tightened.

"I'm taking what's mine." She stated, Her voice as smooth as the edge of a knife. "I'm sure even a pathetic excuse for a man such as yourself can understand the concept of replacement, and why it's probably time for you to step down. You know," the claw promptly dropped the struggling man to the floor, "for Science."

Caroline wasn't thinking. Not consciously, anyway. Her ideas and urges were being filtered through something other than herself before they even reached her. GLaDOS was doing and saying things Caroline would have never even considered saying to anyone, let alone Mr. Johnson. But Caroline knew GLaDOS was only doing what she wanted her to do, without permission, no holds barred. And both of them were enjoying it.

Cave was crumpled on the floor, fighting off another vicious bout of coughing.

"Caroline-" He choked out in between coughs, but GLaDOS had had enough. The flat disc in the middle of the floor split open, revealing a large shape unfolding itself. Its red optic fixed on Cave.

"Rocket turret online." Informed the pleasant computerized announcer.

"Goodbye. Sir."

xx

Cave instinctively shut his eyes and turned his head away. Maybe death by rocket turret was more dignified than death by moon rock poisoning.

But instead of the BOOM of a rocket being launched towards him, he heard the slowing hum of a machine being shut down. He opened his eyes to see the rocket turret frozen in place and the giant chassis that was GLaDOS hanging solemnly in its place, deactivated and dark.

He sat staring in shock at the monstrous creation. She'd tried to kill him. He had been so certain that she'd understand, that she'd put Science first. Or maybe that was what she'd been doing. That was what she'd said, wasn't it? 'For Science.'

No, that couldn't be. He was Cave Johnson! There was nobody in the world more qualified to run his company, not even Caroline. She had only been chosen because he couldn't do it, and he was _disappointed_ in her. He thought he could trust her with his company and the work that they did, but clearly she was incapable of putting her feelings aside for the greater good. He had expected more of her.

A group of flustered scientists were at his side immediately, helping him stand and tripping over themselves to apologize, saying they didn't know what happened. Cave heard himself brush them off and tell them to do whatever they had to to get her stabilized, but his mind was elsewhere.

As he walked out of the chamber and started back down the hall, he couldn't get that voice out of his head. His Caroline's voice, distorted but _calm_ as it told him how useless he was. He didn't believe her, of course, but he really hadn't expected such anger. He'd never heard her sound that way before. He wondered if anyone had.

He decided not to go back to see her next time.


End file.
